* White House defends phone snooping as "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats." * Tumblr of the Day: "Laid Off From the Sun-Times." * Boston Marathon spectators file lawsuit against New York Post for portraying them as bombing suspects. * A new study shows that
* Right now, the NSA is monitoring phone records of Verizon customers—"regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing." * After using the world of tomorrow to keep Americans hopeful during WWII, government and industry found ways to dash those dreams. * Researchers successfully guide a thought-controlled helicopter
* Michelle Obama—unlike her husband—doesn't suffer hecklers kindly. * Social media is essential to contemporary civil unrest—in Turkey, Vine is the medium of choice. * According to a new poll, most black Americans feel that, over the past decade, their lives have improved. * Only two million of the
* Facing increasing numbers of protesters arrested on "Moral Mondays," North Carolina governor calls civil disobedience "unacceptable." * Ohio State University president retires after saying of Notre Dame, "You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday." * Lords offer 18
* If we stopped chopping down so many trees, we'd put a dent in one of our largest sources of greenhouse gases. * Supreme Court complicates Fourth Amendment rights by ruling police can collect DNA from individuals without convictions. * In search of "sacred music," John Davidson retraces his
* Black Americans were nearly four times as likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010. * Despite last weekend's shooting surge in New York, the city is still experiencing a 23% drop in gun victims over this time last year. * New York City in
* The number of women senators has grown by 65% in the past decade, as has their influence—seven years ago, military sexual assault was ignored. * In Sweden, where college is free but little else is, students still rack up debt. * In World War II, German soldiers relied on meth to
* The divide between East and West Berlin is still visible from space—because of different lightbulbs. * By the end of 2012, American families had recouped less than half of what they lost in the economic crash. * The past 33 years of news, as told in CNN clips. * Southern Baptists plan
* NYU grad student creates API that enables the public to analyze drone-strike data from as far back as 2002. * A liberal infiltrates Fox News. * A group of archaeologists says Archaeopteryx should now be considered a bird, rather than a birdlike dinosaur. * To facilitate more efficient walking for biped robots,
* New report suggests widespread use of human trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry, a major supplier for the U.S. * Unemployment rate in the eurozone reached new record high of 12.2% in April, with 19.38 million people out of work. * Children who accidentally digested medical marijuana begin
